Movies

This is from Facebook, so those not there (*cough*Yours Truly*cough*) can participate. (It's more fun on Facebook because it's a poll.

Thinking about going to the movies on Friday. I specifically don't want to see Journey 2, Ghost Rider (Nic Cage!), or John Carter (well, I sort of want to see John Carter...). I want to see Safe House just because the tagline is "No One Is Safe." THEN WHY ARE YOU CALLING IT A SAFE HOUSE!?!?!? On the list of movies that actually seem like a good idea we have Liam vs. The Wolf (AKA The Grey), Albert Nobbs, Carnage, and The Artist. But I did just get Ferris Bueller's Day Off on Blu-Ray at home...

Comments

Kind of unrelated, but can I suggest the movie Tucker and Dale Vs Evil? It's a comedy horror movie that takes on the idea of the scary hick horror (The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Deliverance). It's really funny and Alan Tudyk is in it.

Pina 3D was UNREAL. I was so fucking transported. Totally cried several times.

That Rite of Spring was like the most amazing Rite of Spring in history, holy shit. The age-mix of the dancers! That dance at the high school dance! The whimsical dance with the dog barking! Holy crap

Great use of 3D. I saw it at Cinema 21 and Wim Wenders was there doing a Q&A and he said he and Pina had been wanting to make a documentary about her troupe for 20 years but he kept just feeling like he didn't know how to do it. Then finally one day he saw "U2 3D" at the imax and he was like "EUREKA!!!!!!!!"

Literally just waiting for 3D technology to be invented, even though he didn't know it. So awesome.

Working through three from the red vending machines. All apparently worthy of my recommendation!

The Whistleblower. Feminist political/police procedural based on real events in post-war Bosnia. Echoes of UHX "Porno" discussion thread. Takeaway: Men running shit is a bad idea.

Young Adult. Dark comedy? I don't think so. Drama about a sour, witty, mean, deeply neurotic/troubled, mid-career writer (female) more like. I thought it was worthwhile on many levels. Now I guess I'll have to see Juno. (Same writer/director team). Takeaway: The city works for some people.

The Adventures of Tintin. Just started this as Josie's bedtime fare. We paused at the point where we meet Capt. Haddock. At least an hour to go. I'm into it. Takeaway: Spielberg will always be reaching into my pockets.

YT, why do you think that Juno is anti-abortion but Knocked Up isn't (you like Knocked Up, right?)?

Here's some stuff addressing those issues.

" A. O. Scott, writing for The New York Times, agreed that Juno has "an underlying theme, a message that is not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood".[8] Ellen Page commented, "What I get most frustrated at is when people call it a pro-life movie, which is just absurd... The most important thing is the choice is there, and the film completely demonstrates that."[9] Cody and Page have openly stated that they are pro-choice;[10][11] Reitman thought that it was "fantastic" that both pro-life and pro-choice groups were embracing the film.[12] He said that "Juno seems to be a mirror, and people [on both sides] see themselves in it".[13]

Other critics labeled Juno as feminist because of its portrayal of Juno as a confident and intelligent teenage girl. Antifeminist Phyllis Schlafly wrote that Juno's theme "isn't love, romance, or respect for life, but the triumph of feminist ideology, i.e., the irrelevancy of men, especially fathers".[14] Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe concluded "Juno serves cool, intelligent girls something they rarely see in a movie: themselves".[15] Cody said about writing the film, "Women are clever, women are funny, women are sharp, and I wanted to show that these girls were human and not the stereotypical teenage girls that we often see in the media"[16] and "There was a lack of authentic teen girl characters ... I saw writing this screenplay as an opportunity to create an iconic female."[1] Page praised the film for its positive depiction of teenage girls, describing Juno's character as "really refreshing and allow[ing] for new possibilities in what young women can be"[9] and "honest but original, completely devoid of stereotype",[16] while also highlighting that "Girls haven't had that sort of character before. We don't have our Catcher in the Rye".[1] She criticized the media perception of her character as a "strong woman", arguing that if Juno were a male character, the "strength" of the character would not be considered remarkable.[17] Reitman was interested in the personal/political conflict for Vanessa's character: "Feminism has paved the way for Vanessa’s career, but ultimately Vanessa wants to be a full time mother."[citation needed]"

All of that is totally true, all the stuff about showing a tough, clever, funny, wise main female character, and the absence of fathers, etc. I value that stuff in the movie.

But I literally could not believe what I was watching, when this ostensibly "feminist" movie depicted a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT going to get an abortion, and running into a classmate holding a pro-life sign in front of the planned parenthood and chanting "all babies deserve to be borned," and then going into the planned parenthood and it was like the most outrageous hysterical republican caricature of a planned parenthood--just like filled with trashy people and a huge bowl of condoms and a "Goth" receptionist who was all bored and gross and bitchy, and Juno is like "ohhh god why did I come to this AWFUL PLACE?" and she leaves triumphantly, baby intact, and passes her protesting classmate and it's like a moment of fucking communion between them???

I could not believe it. I have been inside so many planned parenthoods and they are not like that and characterizing them that way seemed like the most appalling, underhanded commentary.

I agree the "message(s)" of the film are mixed--there is some extraordinarily feminist and cool stuff going on in it--but the basic premise, which is that a sixteen year old girl or whatever makes the moral decision not to get an abortion (based on the fact that the abortion clinic was depicted as IMMORAL and UGLY) and then gains strength through nobly owning her call to bring yet another unwanted baby into the world...ugh

But part of my rage, to be fair, is that I just thought the movie itself was insufferable. The dialogue is just so awful, it's all way too twee and precious, the soundtrack, UGHH, etc.

So part of my rage is definitely aesthetic (whereas I just think Knocked Up is a funnier film, even though the protagonist is less clever/feminist-y than Juno).

And knocked up is a grown-ass rich lady being like "well, might as well do this now, since I was always planning on doing it eventually." She wants a baby; she's keeping the baby. Her choice isn't about being opposed to abortion so much as it is about actually wanting to have a baby.

???

I just hated that Planned Parenthood scene so much you guys. I just couldn't believe it, and I think it's super disingenuous of Cody and the filmmakers to be like "WHAT???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" about it. They knew exactly what they were doing, and it sucks.

Like, there is literally no reason a high school student would carry a baby to term and then give it up for adoption other than being morally opposed to (or unable to get access to) an abortion. So, they tried to make a "feminist" film about a high school student carrying a baby to term, but there's just no way around the fact that the plot of the film can only happen if Juno is on some level horrified, morally, by the idea of abortion. And I think that sucks.